When Life Gives You Coffee Stains…Make Art!: German illustrator Stefan Kuhnigk is using his drawing skills to turn coffee stains into adorable monsters in his new viral art project. The result of seeing an old coffee stain on his desk in a new light, Kuhnigk’s “coffeemonsters” series now has more than 300 characters and more to come. When asked about his specific inspiration, Kuhnigk replies, “The personalities are random just like the stains…It’s just what I see at that point in time.” As Kuhnigk contemplates a red wine Christmas edition of coffeemonsters and other modifications to the series, he stands as living proof that art can be found even in the most mundane.

The Story of a Legally Blind Photographer: When social worker Tammy Ruggles’ retinitis pigmentosa became so severe that she was declared legally blind at age 40, she never imagined she would ever be able to indulge her love of photography again. Enter digital point-and-shoot cameras. Digital camera technology allows Ruggles to pursue her passion–she may not be able to pre-arrange a shot or fiddle with the numerous settings on the camera to alter a shot in the moment, but she argues, “I don’t worry about how other photographers work; I’m just happy to have found a way to do my own work with a camera…I can see things with my camera that I can’t see without it, like it’s a second set of eyes.” Read Ruggles’ brave story here.

Italian Authors Unite Against Gender-Related Censorship & Discrimination: Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro has made a move to ban some 50 children’s books from the city’s classrooms on the grounds of inappropriate topics, including physical, religious, and racial discrimination and gender/sexuality issues. In response, over 250 Italian authors, among them renowned authors Leo Lionni and Giorgio Fontana, have banded together in solidarity and signed a petition to Brugnaro that their books, too, be banned from Venice classrooms. The letter informs the mayor that the petitioners “don’t want to stay in a city where the books of others are banned.” While Brugnaro reversed his decision to ban several of the books, many remain censored– mainly those involving issues of gender and human sexuality, such as the picture book “Piccolo Uovo” (“Little Egg”) that follows the journey of an egg who learns that there are many different kinds of family. The leaders of the petition have stated that this “partial reverse” on the part of the mayor remains unacceptable and the petition stands. Though many doubt that Brugnaro will yield, the motion stands as an example of brave resistance to exclusionary practices and those standing in the way of social progress.

George Lucas, Carole King, & Rita Moreno to Receive Kennedy Center Honors: The filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and dancer-actress, respectively, are among six honorees selected for the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. Honorees have expression sentiments of humility and gratitude, as Moreno jokes “I’m beside myself. I feel like I’m 5 years old,” and Lucas admits, “That sobers you up, to realize you’re at the point where they’re honoring your body of work.” The three other honorees are the rock band the Eagles, actress Cicely Tyson, and conductor Seiji Ozawa. The 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors will be held on December 6, the first under new producers Ricky Kirschner and Glenn Weiss.